“Love is the natural state of human life; fear is the means the ego uses to control and possess the world.”
— Maharishi Sadasiva Isham, Ishaya teacher of Ascension
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I was taking a stroll down by the river with my family just the other day … the sun was bright, the river was glistening, the birds a chirping.
A perfectly lovely scene.
I turn the corner where upon we witness a man yelling and thrashing his dog to get it to behave.
From pure contented joy to yuck in about half a second.
Curious behaviour I thought. But behaviour that is common nonetheless - is it not?
When someone (or some dog) doesn’t do what you want them to do, simply yell louder and bring in violence. Not working? Simply shout louder and/or add more violence.
You may chuckle, but we do this all the time to ourselves.
You get violent and yell and shout at yourself when you do something wrong, when you disappoint, when you don't "behave"…
You try and beat your own mind to get it to stop being so reactive or anxious or negative or worried, and then you wonder why your head never behaves in the way you want it to.
We are so harsh to ourselves, and truly, no one would even talk to an animal the way they talk to themselves.
I know this because I’ve tried that style of self-training. I know that pattern of internal talk, of trying to gain mastery of my mind by thrashing and yelling and viciousness. I’ve tried harsh discipline.
It doesn’t work, at all, ever. Love is always the way forward, always.
If you’ve ever seen a dog that has been beaten, it doesn’t want to come close because it’s worried it’ll get another beating.
Witness a dog that is rewarded for good behaviour though … it wants to do what you want it to. It wants to return and sit and await orders. It doesn’t run off at the slightest hint of interest somewhere else. You can teach it to do just about anything you want it to.
The answer for you in all of this?
In learning to master your mind and therefore gain mastery over your words and deeds, stop the internal violence.
Reward and enjoy the return to the present moment – this is key, as is persistent patience.
Rome was not built in a day, and neither did you learn anything new in an instant or through haphazard practice. Consistency is so important.
It's time to put down the whip. Take a different attitude to all of life.
This can be a joyful movement to more, not a painful grind through hell.
And if you’re not sure on this – ask yourself, “What if?”. “What if you could focus solely on the Good and get where you want faster and more gracefully than ever?”.
How will you know unless you try?
Go well!
Arjuna
PS.
Come and join me for an Ascension meditation course –
More ease, more love, more soul in every part of life.
Only a few days until the next one on 9-11 February (starts 7pm Friday).
Remember, it’s always free to repeat and you get so much more from even a few hours remembering how easy and simple it and life can be.
If you’d like a place, get in touch and I’ll send you all the details.
Talk soon